Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design, Setting, and Participants
2.2. Questionnaire
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Data
3.2. Frequency and Type of Self-Medication
3.3. Confidence in Their Own Knowledge
3.4. Perception About Self-Medication
3.5. Eploratory Elements and Professional Training
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ANMDM | National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices |
OTC | Over the counter |
References
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Characteristic | Value/Percent |
---|---|
Number of students | 224 |
Females | 71.42% |
Youngest respondent | 20 years |
Oldest respondent | 37 years |
Age mean ± SD | 22 ± 2 years |
Most frequent age | 22 years (36.16%) |
Pharmacy students | 20.08% |
Frequency | Percent |
---|---|
Weekly | 22.32% |
Once a month | 32.58% |
Once in a few months | 44.64% |
Type of medicines | |
Analgesics/antipyretics | 46.87% |
Supplements/vitamins | 37.5% |
Antihistamines | 5.8% |
Antibiotics | 5.35% |
Medicines for gastro-intestinal disorders | 4.01% |
Sedatives/hypnotics | 0.44% |
Reason | |
Mild and recognizable symptoms | 64.73% |
Confidence in own knowledge | 23.32% |
Avoiding waiting time at the doctor’s office | 5.8% |
Recommendations from friends/family | 5.35% |
Accessibility to medicines | 1.78% |
Risk | Percent |
---|---|
Drug interactions | 26.78% |
Adverse reactions | 23.66% |
Masking serious symptoms | 18.75% |
Wrong diagnostic | 18.3% |
Antibiotics resistance | 11.6% |
No risks | 0.89% |
Source of Information | Percent |
---|---|
Internet | 32.14% |
Books and lectures | 27.23% |
Pharmacist | 19.19% |
Family/friends | 12.05% |
Family doctor | 9.37% |
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Jîtcă, G.; Jîtcă, C.-M.; Buț, M.-G.; Vari, C.-E. Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students. Pharmacy 2025, 13, 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13050127
Jîtcă G, Jîtcă C-M, Buț M-G, Vari C-E. Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students. Pharmacy. 2025; 13(5):127. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13050127
Chicago/Turabian StyleJîtcă, George, Carmen-Maria Jîtcă, Mădălina-Georgiana Buț, and Camil-Eugen Vari. 2025. "Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students" Pharmacy 13, no. 5: 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13050127
APA StyleJîtcă, G., Jîtcă, C.-M., Buț, M.-G., & Vari, C.-E. (2025). Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students. Pharmacy, 13(5), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13050127